The Detroit Red Wings have had discussions with the Nashville Predators about sending forward Jordin Tootoo back to the organization that drafted and developed him according to a source.

The Red Wings will have two extra forwards and will be slightly over the $64.3 million salary cap once they sign restricted free agents Gustav Nyquist and Joakim Andersson.

They have been trying to swing a trade for more than a month to alleviate their roster and cap crunch. Tootoo with two years at $1.9 million per season remaining on his contract appears to be their most viable trade candidate.

Nashville a team that typically doesn't spend up to the cap has $4.6 million in cap space according to capgeek.com. But the Predators have 14 forwards after signing a trio of free agents (Matt Cullen Viktor Stalberg and Eric Nystrom) and would likely need to move a player to make room for Tootoo.

Tootoo 30 remains a popular player in Nashville where he played for eight seasons from 2003-20012 appearing in 486 games (46 goals 79 assists 125 points 825 penalty minutes).

The Predators wanted to re-sign him in 2012 but he inked a three-year $5.7 million deal with Detroit.

Tootoo provided a physical presence and fought eight times for a team that has ranked last or near the bottom of the league in fighting majors for many years.

But he was a healthy scratch in six of the final 23 games and appeared in only one playoff game because the club preferred to use players who could provide different elements (offense penalty killing) in the postseason.